Milestone marked with celebration

THE Orders of St John Care Trust and specialist care home building company Lawrence Baker came together to mark a key construction milestone – known as “topping out” –at the Wellford Gardens development in Wheatley.

OSJCT’s CEO Dan Hayes and chair of trustees Mark Everall marked the construction milestone by placing the final tile on the roof before the internal fit-out commences.

They were joined for the occasion by other key representatives including Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Councillor and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, and Carl Wilson, contracts manager for Lawrence Baker, whilst also giving thanks to Frontier Estates, the developer of the home, and QP Architecture.

Dan said: “It’s wonderful to see Wellford Gardens coming to life, and what will be a significant asset to the Wheatley community.

“What’s being built here is a care home of the highest quality, that’s fit for the future, and ensures that the latest skills and innovation come together to give our residents everything they deserve, and most importantly, it will be full of the love, compassion and care you would expect from the Orders of St John

Care Trust.”

Located just off the A40 on Park Hill, the project will deliver a threestorey home with 65 bedrooms, offering residents an all-inclusive, luxury lifestyle, and round-the-clock residential and dementia care.

The home design includes innovative new technologies such as acoustic monitoring and a fresh air ventilation system.

Landscaped gardens (including private patios) will enable individuals to maintain an active lifestyle, while a specially designed dementia-friendly garden will provide valuable sensory stimulation.

Facilities will include a private dining room, hair salon and nail bar, therapy room, activities and exercise rooms, and a coffee lounge.

Carl Wilson, contracts manager for Lawrence Baker, added: “It’s been great to be a part of the topping out ceremony with OSJCT.

“As specialists in care home construction, Lawrence Baker has been delighted to bring our experience to this project with the Trust.

“We’re sure Wellford Gardens will be a wonderful addition to the local community in Wheatley.”

The new luxury care home is due to open in late autumn.

Manager Graham Oakes said: “After months of hard work we were delighted to have a suitable event to mark the official opening of Chestnut Lodge, and to welcome some of our neighbouring businesses and local councillors to share the day with us.

“Chestnut Lodge will fill a significant gap in care provision for the people of Yeovil and a small number of residents have already moved in, with a growing number of families also reserving rooms for loved ones.

“We deliberately chose to fill the home slowly so that staff could get to know everybody properly, so it’s good to see the first residents settling in happily.

“Their families have been very supportive and every member of the staff team is totally living up to our expectations.

“Dementia is a condition that affects so many families and when the decision is taken that residential care is the best way forward for a loved one, families want to know they will be supported to live their best life – which is exactly what we intend to do.”

Chestnut Lodge is set over three floors with residents’ rooms set around a central courtyard garden, with its position at the top of Hendford Hill giving far-reaching views over Yeovil.

Graham originally trained as a nurse at Yeovil Hospital and spent 10 years with the NHS, largely in geriatric care, before changing track to become a care home manager in 1994, motivated by a desire to deliver ongoing care to the vulnerable people he was supporting.

He has since worked in a variety of roles in different parts of the country within both the home care and the care home sector and came to Chestnut Lodge from a care home in Bridport, Dorset, which was rated ‘Outstanding’ by CQC under his management.

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